Standard Republican tactics include lock-step agreement and denial of differences. No one doubts, Bush is always right, supreme confidence reigns. That makes this fun story all the more interesting.
Few have struck a nerve more than Scarborough, who questioned the president's intelligence on his show, "Scarborough Country." He showed a montage of clips of Bush's famously inarticulate verbal miscues and then explored with guests John Fund and Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. whether Bush is smart enough to be president.
While the country does not want a leader wallowing in the weeds, Scarborough concluded on the segment, "we do need a president who, I think, is intellectually curious."
"And that is a big question," Scarborough said, "whether George W. Bush has the intellectual curiousness -- if that's a word -- to continue leading this country over the next couple of years."
In a later telephone interview, Scarborough said he aired the segment because he kept hearing even fellow Republicans questioning Bush's capacity and leadership, particularly in Iraq. Like others, he said, he supported the war but now thinks it is time to find a way to get out. "A lot of conservatives are saying, 'Enough's enough,' " he said. Asked about the reaction to his program, he said, "The White House is not happy about it."
The Democrats have to learn to use their inner Hagel the way Bush has used his Lieberman. Bush has only one Joementum, but the Hagels, Buckleys and Scarboroughs are going to multiply. There is now bipartisan support for the concept that the president isn't especially bright. Without that bipartisan support, there'd be no recognition of Bush's intellectual failings.
More importantly, and in advance of the election, there's growing bipartisan support that Iraq is a disaster. There's also growing recognition that the polls show a gathering storm for Republicans, starting with Bush's poor polls (still stuck below 40% and dropping), unhappiness with Congress and a desire for Dems to be in charge. Add to that slim pickings on terrorism and a recognition that Iraq is more important than terrorism, immigration or the economy and you have the impression that even Republicans and conservatives are beginning to get it. No amount of negative advertising is going to protect the R majority, especially given the challengers' well-funded situation.
In a year of bad omens for the GOP, the latest batch of disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission offers one more:
Incumbency no longer means that embattled Republican representatives can expect to overwhelm weakly funded Democratic challengers with massive spending on advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts.
The public has made up its mind that the Republican-led Congress and WH have been a failure. it's interesting that with the failure of conservatism and conservative politics, the pundits are beginning to agree.
This makes it all the more important to continue to read the right side of the spectrum (I always have), to see who simply becomes shriller (Mehlman-style) and who starts thinking for themselves. Some of these folks could give sinking ship lessons to rats, but some of them have a good deal of insight to add about what's going on in the collective conservative consciousness. And cut them some slack. Admitting you were wrong is difficult, even for the best of them.
crossposted at The Next Hurrah.